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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27803761">Way Ward Soul</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psycho_Socialight/pseuds/Psycho_Socialight'>Psycho_Socialight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon &amp; Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Denial, F/M, Falling In Love, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not Happy, Obsession, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Self-Harm, Stalking, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Threats of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:14:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27803761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psycho_Socialight/pseuds/Psycho_Socialight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wirt and Gregory are stuck in the unknown forever. While coping with their new home friends made and new loved ones found. Life is not always kind, and Wirt learns this fact immediately. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*Probably avoid reading this if you're looking for something happy and wholesome.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Way Ward Soul</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This chapter might be a touch depressing, but the story's gotta start somewhere.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cloying fragrance of earth saturated with oil and blood, almost suffocated the adolescent with every breath. Bleakness enveloped the timbers, and yet nearly blind Wirt peered down to witness his younger brother's dreadful decay; Branches violently surfaced from the child's flesh, shredding Gregory's innards and contorting his dying form. "W-Wirt," The child weakly croaked out. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's alright, Greg." The teenager's eyes brimmed with tears. "We're going home." Wirt felt his heart sink as his brother's breaths started becoming more shallow and slower. Hapless, all the teen could do was sit and watch the branches absorb Greg's life as they overtook his body."We're going home... I promise."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Greg was no more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No matter how much it pained the teenager, he could not reject the fact that Greg had encountered an unfortunate fate. Wirt clung to the bloody bark that was brother's corpse. Hours passed by as Wirt waited for the foliage to possess him much like it had his brother; the teenager's patience was fruitless. Death proved itself a luxury Wirt could never afford.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite how deep in the underbrush Wirt lingered, prying eyes sought him within the unknown terrain. Leaves that littering the frozen earth crunched, cementing to Wirt the fact that he was no longer alone. Something was prowling, maneuvering throughout the labyrinth of tree trunks circling in on the teen in a predatory manner. Slicing the silence of muted groves with only a hum, Wirt believed the anonymous predator was the source of the eerie melody.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the noise of fallen leaves crunching grew louder, as did the onlooker's humming, numbly Wirt called out to the dark void of the woods, "If you're here to kill me, fine." Wirt wished to embrace his demise; Even supposing the potential for the interloper to slaughter Wirt gruesomely, it would be a welcomed alternative to embrace rather than having to shoulder the gravity of his brother's death with him for the rest of his life. Whatever the pursuing beast was, had stopped dead in its tracks. The approaching strides ceased, the terrifying tune terminated, every slight sound stood silenced, and for a split-second, Wirt's heart halted. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A sigh escaped Wirt's lips. He would not be so fortunate to discover a means of exit to escape the lonesomeness Greg's absence supplied. An idea came to the teen's mind. Wirt unfastened the safety-pin, which assisted in securing his cloak's position atop his shoulders. Deliberately the adolescent experimented, superficially piercing the delicate veins with the sharpened point. The half-hearted pinpricks' penetration depth increased, yielding a substantial quantity of blood to emerge from the wounded integument. Something odd happened as Wirt attempted to continue the selected self-destruction method; Roots from Greg -the remnants of Greg- coiled around Wirt's wrists. Hopefulness bubbled up in Wirt's chest, "Greg, is that you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tree proved no acknowledgment to the question. Instead, a set of unblinking, pale, iridescent eyes appeared from the depth of the darkness. "No, it is not." A voice spoke out; it held a deep rich quality, but it did not belong to Greg. Wirt squirmed as the roots coiling around his injured wrist; they tightened their clasp. The added pressure of the branches effectively decreased the bleeding. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite the all-in compassing shadows of the woodlands, the specter's luminescent eyes appeared to see all. Moments passed, all the while silence blanketed the two, causing time to slow. The teenager clutched whatever remained of his brother bark, blood, tattered cloths, and Greg's cracked teapot. Whether Wirt appeared pathetic to the spectator was inconsequential. Growing annoyed by the needless silence, Wirt questioned, "What do you want?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Vines ensnared the teenager's appendages and separated Wirt from Greg. The roots and branches were forcefully pinning him to the ground. Wirt's heart sank while he heard the splintering of timber. Nearly all that resided within the woodland was swallowed by an eternal night, neglected and forgotten by sunlight. Wirt felt somewhat blessed for the temporary blindness; nevertheless, the teenager was painstakingly conscious of everything that transpired, despite his vision's poverty. Wirt could visualize every stroke of the cleaver. The trespasser was hacking apart Greg while humming as though the monster wasn't butchering a corpse. Anger surged throughout the teen, as did sorrow and fear. Repeatedly the adolescent murmured his brother's name. When the stranger's ax successfully severed the tree's attachment to the ground, Wirt whispered desperately, "Please God, save him. I would give anything, please."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A deep-toned chuckle rumbled out of the stranger's chest. Wirt assumed the sinister dissonance was comparable to that of a demon's laughter. "Are you sure?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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